HVAC Repair in Bay City, MI
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bay County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, most of it near zero
Your furnace in Bay County runs from October through May. On winter nights that average 18°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the heat exchanger. When the igniter finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all and the house goes cold fast at that temperature.
Summer is short here, just June through August, with afternoons around 80°F. That's not extreme heat, but it's enough to run the air conditioner daily for three months after it sat unused. A capacitor or a low refrigerant charge that was already weak often fails on the first hot day it's asked to work hard.
Bay County also sees its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and plenty of Michigan homes lost power for a day or more last year. When the power comes back on, most furnaces and air conditioners restart on their own. If yours doesn't, the problem is likely with the system, not the outage.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $170 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Bay County home.
Estimates for a typical Bay County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Michigan fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Michigan licenses HVAC contractors through the Board of Mechanical Rules. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers this repair and whatever mechanical work that contractor takes on next.
For a repair to your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. In Michigan, the license itself is the record, since the state licenses the contractor rather than checking each job separately.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat, the temperature is above room temperature, and the batteries are not dead. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near it, since that shuts the whole system down when flipped off. A furnace that used to run and now does nothing usually stopped for one of these reasons, or the pilot or igniter failed and a contractor will need to look at it.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and the coil can freeze up when that happens, which stops it from pulling heat out of the air even though the blower keeps running. Check that all the supply vents in the house are open, since closing too many can cause the same problem. If the filter is clean and the vents are open, the system may be low on refrigerant or have a failing part, and that needs a contractor to check.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the breaker, and the air filter first, since these cause a lot of no heat and no cooling calls. Make sure the thermostat is set to the right mode and temperature. Look at the breaker panel for a tripped switch, and check the furnace's own power switch. If the filter is dirty enough to see through, replace it. Telling the contractor what you found, and whether the system makes any unusual noise, helps them get to the actual problem faster.